Bus question
 

How much does it cost for a monthly city bus pass for Paris?
I'd appreciate if anyone could give me a site for the bus-transportation system in Paris so I can get an idea of how things work.

Thank you very much,
- Nick

The site is <b>ratp.fr</b> (note that the English site does not have most of the content).

The pass you want is called the &quot;Carte Orange Mensuel&quot; which is good for a calendar month. See

<b>http://www.ratp.info/informer/tarif_abonnements_o.php</b>

The price depends on the zones it's valid for, according to the chart at the &quot;Visualisez vos zones&quot; link at the top of the page.

If you go to this page:

<b>http://www.ratp.info/orienter/tous_plans_pdf.php</b>

you can download several different maps of the bus network. At this address

<b>http://www.ratp.info/orienter/tous_plans_terminus.php</b>

there are maps of the individual routes (20 to 96 are within the city proper).

http://www.optile.com/guide/carte-orange.html
But I don't think the info is current. It seems I pay more for the weekly card than listed here.
Boots

Thanks alot Robespierre and Boots! You guys were a big help :)

The monthly pass that will let you ride the bus, metro (and RER within the metropolitan area) is called Carte Orange mensuelle. They are good for a calendar month (i.e., from the 1st through the last day of the month, NOT 30 days from the date you purchase) and are sold fromn the 20th of the preceding month through the 19th of the month in which they are valid for use. (The weekly pass is Carte Orange hebdomadaire, valid for use Monday through Sunday and sold starting Friday of the preceding week through Wednesday of the week of use.)
You will need a passport size photo of yourself when you buy the pass at a Metro station. You will receive a little platic wallet with a numbered pass to which you will affix the photo plus a ticket that you will re-use for the entire validity period. You will need to write the number of your pass on the reusable ticket. When traveling using the pass be sure you carry both the ticket and the card with your photo. Prices will depend on what zones you will need to cover, are online at http://www.ratp.info/informer/tarif_abonnements_o.php
Note that this infomration is only on the French version of the site; the English version only describes the tourist passes that are nowhere near as good a deal. This has led to a myth that the Carte Orange passes are sold only to Parisians, but this is not true. Yes, it is marketed only to residents of IDF, but sold to anyone.